The Mechanical Engineering Magazine | 2013 Department of Mechanical Engineering Texas A&M Mechanical Engineering | 1
Department Overview RESEARCH AREAS Combustion & IC Engines Heat transfer High temperature materials Fluid mechanics Composite materials Biomechanics MEMS Mechatronics Computational mechanics Design
RESEARCH LABORATORIES & CENTERS Acoustics and Signal Processing Laboratory Adaptive Soft Materials Laboratory Advanced Computational Mechanics Laboratory Advanced Engine Research Laboratory Aerosol Technology Laboratory Bio Chem Air Quality Combustion, Reaction & Characterization Laboratory Computational Heat Transfer Computational Materials Science Design Systems Laboratory E3 (Engines, Emissions, and Energy) Energy Systems Laboratory Fluids, Turbulence, and Fundamental Transport Laboratory Gas Dynamics and Propulsion Laboratory Industrial Assessment Center Interface Group Laboratory for High Temperature Materials MESAM Multi-Phase Flows and Heat Transfer Laboratory Nano-Energy Laboratory Nanolayer & Thin Film Group NIML - Networked Intelligent Machines Laboratory Plasma Engineering and Diagnostics Laboratory Polymer Nano Composites Polymer Technology Center Precision Mechatronics Coal and Biomass Energy Laboratory Hybrid Multifunctional Composites Group Thermo-Fluids Control Laboratory Tribology Group Turbine Heat Transfer Laboratory Turbine Performance and Flow Research Turbomachinery Laboratory Vibration, Control and Electromechanics
2 | Mechanical Engineering
FACULTY RECOGNITION
CERTIFICATE PROGRAMS Business Management Energy Engineering Engineering Honors Engineering Project Management International Engineering Polymer Specialty Safety Engineering
44 Fellows or Honorary Fellows in thirteen professional societies seventy journals 14 Faculty have received Association of Former Students Teaching Awards
DWIGHT LOOK COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING STUDENT ENROLLMENT Undergraduate
Graduate
Total
2012
1134
490
1624
2011
1196
387
1583
2010
1164
410
1574
2009
1147
452
1599
STUDENT DIVERSITY Undergraduate
Graduate
Female
16%
19%
Hispanic
14%
6%
African American 2%
2%
4%
3%
5%
64%
Asian
Approximately 300 companies interview our graduates each year Average SAT scores of entering freshmen The Texas A&M average SAT score is 1220 The average GRE score for graduate The Texas A&M average GRE score is 1216 scholarships and graduate student fellowships were awarded to our students
FACULTY PROFILE 26 Professors 14 Associate Professors 12 Assistant Professors 2 Visiting Professors 9 Lecturers
The Dwight Look College of Engineering is one of the largest engineering colleges in the nation. It ranks 17th in the country for undergraduate engineering schools. The Dwight Look College of Engineering is the largest college on the Texas A&M campus with more than 10,000 engineering students enrolled in the 12 departments. The Dwight Look College of Engineering is consistently ranked among the nation’s top programs. It is also among the top universities in the number of National Merit Scholars, nationally recognized faculty, and funded research. Texas A&M College of Engineering was Hispanic Outlook survey of America’s schools. U.S. News and World Report ranks the Texas A&M Engineering graduate program
U.S. universities. MAGAZINE STAFF Information and Communications Specialist Designer and Editor Pam Hoestenbach phoestenbach@tamu.edu Designer and Editor tbittle@tamu.edu Communications Student Assistants Talia Delos Santos Kerry Remson Contact the Department:
Faculty Diversity mechanical@tamu.edu
TABLE OF CONTENTS
11 8 4 5 6 7
WELCOME
Andreas A. Polycarpou
RESEARCH FUNDING OUR RICH HERITAGE Diane Barron
LEVERAGING OUR LEGACY Diane Barron
14
12 16
8 11 12 13 14 16 17 18 19
HUMAN ROBOTS Aaron Ames
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT John Mayo
DESIGNING A BETTER MRE H.J. Sue
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT Matthew Scorsone
ORIGAMI ENGINEERING Richard Malak
ORGANIC NANOBRICKS Jaime Grunlan
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT Katherine Collette
FOWLER DISTINGUISHED LECTURE SERIES
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
20 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 33 34
34
DONOR RECOGNITION AWARDS AND HONORS INDUSTRY ADVISORY COUNCIL UNDERGRADUATE & GRADUATE PROGRAMS Harry Hogan & Sai Lau
SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS STUDENT SPOTLIGHT Eric Williams
STUDENT ASSOCIATIONS FACULTY LISTING QATAR FACULTY LISTING ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF
Chris McDonald
Mechanical Engineering | 3
Andreas A. Polycarpou Department Head and Meinhard J. Kotzebue Professor
Howdy! I arrived at Texas A&M University on December 1, 2012, to lead the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Before arriving here I was the Associate Department Head for the undergraduate program and the Wilkins Professor at the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M, with the main campus in College Station, Texas, and a satellite campus in Doha, Qatar, has a strong local, national, and international reputation as a premier undergraduate and graduate research institution. In recent years, our department has advanced its reputation with its strong competitive graduate program and its superb undergraduate program. In collaboration with the College of Engineering and the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES), we continue to breakthroughs are realized. background in mechanical engineering fundamentals, and for having instilled a strong work ethic, as well as a ‘can-do attitude’ among its graduates. The abiding appreciation of former students from the mechanical engineering program fuels much of the generous support we receive (with an existing endowment of over 23M). Maintaining a continually updated, strong undergraduate mechanical engineering program is a major factor in the future of the department in order to better serve today’s students. M. Katherine Banks, Vice Chancellor and Dean of Engineering, recently announced the 25x25 plan (where the College of Engineering will add an additional 25,000 students by the year 2025) that will provide an unparalleled opportunity to grow. This growth will target all levels (onsite undergraduate, M.S., and Ph.D. students, as well as distant learning MEng students). This will position the department to strengthening the mechanical engineering graduate program in order for the department to move to a top 10 ranking. The department’s doctoral program has over 200 enrolled students and is critical to our mission. It produces highly trained mechanical engineers for placement as professors and researchers at competitive universities; in industries in Texas, the nation and internationally; and as researchers in national laboratories. The Department of Mechanical Engineering continues to enhance its offering of cutting edge technology graduate courses. This helps ensure that the doctoral graduates it produces are prepared to interdisciplinary large scale societal problems as they relate to human health and the environment. In the coming years there will be a greater emphasis on the department’s Ph.D. program. The current Ph.D. student to tenured track/ tenured faculty ratio is four with 80% of our Ph.D. students fully funded. Our goal is to ensure that all our full time Ph.D. students are $140,000 in graduate fellowships that come from endowments and gifts. We want to increase these graduate fellowships by a factor of an integral part of the research enterprise of the department. These students are supported primarily by competitive federal research grants, as well as major research centers, such as the turbomachinery laboratory, the energy systems laboratory, and the polymer technology center. The current number of tenured-track and tenured faculty is 51. They are supplemented by six visiting professors and permanent future. These factors point to a very favorable climate for the further development of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and especially for the strengthening of its doctoral program to achieve preeminence.
Andreas A. Polycarpou Department Head & Meinhard J. Kotzebue Professor 4 | Mechanical Engineering
Research Funding
Mechanical Engineering | 5
Our Rich Heritage Since the founding of the State Agriculture and Mechanical College of Texas in 1876, the mechanical arts have been an essential part of the curriculum. In 1880, the Department of Engineering, Mechanics and Drawing Winkle. Total enrollment at Texas A&M was 127 students. To meet the strong trend toward industrial and vocational work, the college developed a new curriculum in 188182 that placed more emphasis on practical training. In the years preceding World War I, the college enrollment grew steadily from 467 to 1,190 in 1911. Texas A&M faculty volunteered to meet the war effort by educating soldiers. The Department of Mechanical Engineering responded to the needs of the nation by training blacksmiths, machinists, draftsmen, general mechanics, automobile mechanics, World War I, the department’s enrollment increased again. By 1927, the number of students had grown from 79 in 1917 to 264. The department adapted to the challenges of rapid technological advancement by offering students courses and laboratories to prepare them to be skilled engineers. C.W. Crawford was appointed department head in 1929, having served on the faculty since 1919. Under his direction, individual subjects related to new technology areas, such as aerodynamics, physical metallurgy, and air-conditioning, were offered as electives. By 1933, the department had 254 students, the largest enrollment in the School of Engineering. In 1936-37, the department was fully accredited by the Engineering Council for Professional Development, later renamed the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. Every six years since, the department has continued to be accredited. By 1940, Texas A&M enrollment had climbed to 6,842, while the School of
6 | Mechanical Engineering
Engineering enrolled 3,225 of these students, more than 1,100 students were in mechanical engineering. World War II found Texas A&M’s Department of Mechanical Engineering faculty again responding to the need for soldiers to be trained, even teaching at military bases throughout the state, in addition to conducting classes on campus. After the war, enrollment continued to grow rapidly in engineering, and more men were graduated between 1946 and 1952 than in the 70 years since the school opened. Very little research was conducted in the department before 1930 except for master’s degree theses, but research gradually increased after the introduction of the Ph.D. program in 1948. Industries and government agencies began to sponsor research within the department. encouraged growth in graduate studies. In 1953, was awarded to L.P. Thompson who was already a mechanical engineering faculty member, and who later became dean of engineering at Arizona State University. In 1957, Clifford Simmang became department head. Between 1956 and 1976, undergraduate enrollment in the department grew from 500 to over 900, and graduate enrollment increased from 30 to 70. In addition, funded research steadily increased, with more than half of the faculty in 1978 employed part-time on research projects through the Texas Engineering Experiment Station. When Simmang retired in 1977, department enrollment had climbed to 1,100. He brought to a conclusion an illustrious chapter in the history of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. Under the new leadership of G.R. Hopkins, the department developed an expanded vision of its mission, built on the foundation of an excellent undergraduate program. This vision continues to evolve, with emphasis on developing the existing M.S. and Ph.D. programs to the same
quality and reputation that the undergraduate program has enjoyed for almost 100 years, dramatically increasing the department’s research activities to the point where they state and nation, and providing opportunities for lifelong learning for engineers through symposia and short courses. The department’s mission has dramatically increased the quality of various activities and the impact of the mechanical engineering program. The department has achieved national and international leadership in several research areas. Its lifelong learning activities have developed international reputations through successful industrial short courses and several annual symposia, all sponsored by the department. The department’s expanded vision has enhanced its historical priority, which is to provide truly excellent education to its students. The department now has a much bigger and more diverse faculty that combines teaching with research and outreach. This change has made it possible to deliver an even higher quality education, since the research and industrial outreach activities for faculty members enrich their teaching. Through the years, companies have sought mechanical engineering graduates from Texas A&M. The department’s former students have become prominent engineers, managers and board chairpersons. They also have become professors, department heads, deans and provosts at colleges and universities. Since 1886, the Department of Mechanical Engineering has made a tremendous impact on the state and nation by graduating quality engineers and conducting vital research. Now, and in the future, the department will continue producing high caliber engineers who can meet the challenges of the mechanical engineering profession.
Our Valuable Leveraging Leveraging our our Legacy Legacy Legacy As we focus on the needs of our state and nation, it provides
• Third, growing our student numbers and increasing quality
department’s vision. Mechanical Engineering is well positioned and prepared in teaching, service, and research for substantial growth while increasing excellence in our students’ education. To help us achieve this goal, we are asking the private sector to play a prominent role in supporting higher education. There has been a tremendous decline in state funding and Texas A&M University is now asking our friends and supporters to help share
Department of Mechanical Engineering we have thoughtful, conscientious leadership across all aspects of the department. Every decision that is made will be in the best interest of the education of our students. The Senior Design Capstone Course is a clear example of our commitment to increasing quality while expanding capacity. Professor Dan McAdams and his colleagues have formed a task force at the encouragement of Andreas Polycarpou, to identify the best pathway forward to increase the space and utilities required for Capstone. At the same time, the faculty has added an exposition to the second semester of Capstone in order to increase the overall
growth. Answering the call of industry, as well as the needs of our state and nation, has and continues to be part of the legacy of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. stepped forward into prominent positions of leadership. The good news for the department today and for our future is that we have more than 9,000 former mechanical engineering students well positioned in leadership roles across the state and nation. As we move ahead with the ambitious goals set by the College of Engineering and our new department head, Dr. Andreas Polycarpou, we need each of you to step forward as well. The of Texas A&M; namely, that Texas A&M is providing a hands-on education, training and preparation, and instilling the work ethic and leadership skills required to answer the needs of our state and nation. This is an exciting time for Texas A&M and the Department of Mechanical Engineering. We are well positioned to take on the ambitious goals of increased growth while increasing the quality of our education. There are three reasons to support this:
develop and demonstrate written and verbal communication skills as the students present their design solutions. The end result is expanded capacity and increased quality. My name is Diane Barron. I’m a graduate of mechanical engineering class of ’81 and it my distinct pleasure to be one of two Directors of Development for the Department of Mechanical Engineering. I believe this is the moment we have been waiting for and with my to become engaged and to give your support in the days ahead in what ever way possible. We are available to visit with you directly and to connect you to our students, faculty, and department leadership. Gig’em! Diane (Steinbrunner) Barron ‘81 Director of Development
understood by all: we have our rich heritage and historical reputation for answering the call; we have an excellent, vibrant faculty and student body; and we have a department head with vision, experience, and leadership. • Second, a remarkable and rare occurrence is at hand, in that we have alignment across the board from you, our friends and leaders in industry, to our faculty, department head, dean and upper administration of the university. All agree that mechanical engineering must take a lead role in the growth of the College of Engineering in order for Texas A&M to answer the call of our state and nation in providing tomorrow’s industry leaders.
Mechanical Engineering | 7
Professor Aaron Ames
Human Robots We’re building robots that can do amazing things, and that gives us the potential to build prosthetic devices such as exo-skeletons, rehabilitation devices, and orthotics. humanlike robots that can walk among us, but Aaron Ames, assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, is building these robots himself. The goal of this research laboratory is trying to get humanlike, robotic walking. What does that mean? robots don’t have that capacity yet, especially two-legged robots. There are a million different robots being built all over the world, We are trying to discover what humans do when they walk, which
can eventually do things such as climb stairs. In the end, what we want is a robot that can go into a disaster area— say, a rubble-strewn area—and get through there in a way that wheeled robots, but walking robots require a lot of sophistication
essential information about human movement that you are applying to robots? Motion capture is actually how all this got started. In fact, it got started about two years ago with an experiment at Berkeley where we did some motion capture of human walking.
8 | Mechanical Engineering
description of walking. By looking at the data, we found that humans do very interesting things when they walk, but after some data analysis, we found that humans basically act like mass-spring damper systems, the simplest example of a mechanical system. Despite all the complexities going on, humans fall into this simple behavior. of hierarchical control in humans where, when we learn to do something very well, we basically move all that processing down to pattern generators in our spinal cords.
texting or reading or doing something else.
Lab), is that the motor being used to drive this robot is about the size of a C battery. Imagine
gives us a feeling as to how we could do that
your muscles were the size of a battery. Rather than overdesign this thing with huge motors,
You mentioned collaborating with NASA. Is space travel or exploration a possible application for walking robots? Yes! A very cool possible application for
makes things tougher because when there are exactly the way you think they will, then the robot will fall. The researchers from the A&M Bipedal Experimental Robotics (AMBER) Lab evaluate AMBER 1.0’s motion on a computer while the However, because AMBER 1.0 is not the most human-looking rig in the world, we also bought a NAO robot. This is a total humanoid
So we have to look at human data. But robots
in it—but it is an easy way to try out some things really quickly on many more degrees of freedom. I have some research collaborations with
data and just put it into these robotic legs, in humanlike proportions. The robot legs would maybe move through the oscillations actually be able to sustain walking. So we look to human data and process that data to extract the essential information about walking. Once we have that information, we encode that in our robots.
well. They got stuck in the soil and had trouble moving around. The Curiosity rover that landed on Mars in August promises to have more mobility than previous rovers, wheeled.
we need all that cognition for? You need it to switch between different behaviors. If you off a step, you have that surprised feeling of falling when, suddenly, your body realizes
soon as humans, but we are sending robots there. What ended up making Spirit and Opportunity and other space robots and
biped. We will have to come in without having designed or built the robot and apply all our methods to it, so playing with this NAO platform that was designed by somebody else
Legs have the potential to get the scientists to the places where they can make the discoveries they really want to make—going through the polar ice caps or going down So the advantage of robots on legs over wheels is clear. What’s the advantage of having robots on two legs instead of four (or even more)? Bipeds allow you to go places even the important reason than that: If we really wanted this technology in terms of just
All our robots use to get this walking is system. So if you want a robot to do any human behavior, all you have to do is watch a human do it, apply this algorithm with stair climbing now in simulation,
doing things like running and turning. We have started to build up this template of behaviors. directly involved in this. What kinds of robots are you using in your lab?
the A&M Bipedal Experimental Robotics
Mechanical Engineering | 9
robots, maybe four legs would be okay and four-leg robots would be built. But understanding human motion, human-leg motion, means that we can apply these ideas to places where humans and robots interact. One of these big application areas that understand exactly how a human walks, and you can realize that in robotic motion and in a very precise fashion, then you can imagine building prosthetic devices that allow humans to do all those things. who have huge mobility issues. Even with the current state of prosthetics, double amputees have to use canes to get around,
really want to try out these things because everyday lives. So we can take care of two that can do amazing things, and that gives us the potential to build prosthetic devices such as exoskeletons, rehabilitation dewealth of applications if you understand how bipeds locomote. So these robotic legs walking in place on a treadmill are the simplest model to understand before we move to robotic legs that actually can move forward. The elemental unit here is human data, so it is not surprising that this movement is fairly human looking. We are trying to merge human data, and that actually feeds into the prosthetics and everything else because you can look at the behavior of a healthy human leg and try to mimic that behavior directly through these formal methods. So what brought you to robots?
over rocks. making robots that can do what humans do. school, I said I wanted to work on bipedal robots. And then in graduate school, I studied
AMBER 2.0, our second robot, walks off the treadmill and does more interesting walking behaviors, moving forward as
And what I always wanted to do was really
to extrapolate all this knowledge to get to things like stepping over stones and walking on uneven terrain. And then you need a visual processing system in the robot.
What are those fundamental mechanisms that humans use? And the amazing thing is that humans do something that is incredibly simple. We discovered recently that humans
But eventually, I think all that will allow us to understand exactly how to navigate any environment by essentially extrapolating between all these behaviors. Yes, there are huge challenges, but extrapolation is what
able to take all those tools and come back to robotic walking again the way I really wanted to do it.
what we do. Despite all these complexities that we have, when we settle into something very simple, we display this elementary allows us to understand this robotic walking. We can use that and basically make the robot do the same thing, and turn it into thousands of lines of code, and then the robot starts to walk. You can see it on the knee behavior of
these basic things, then we can potentially look at a human going through a rubblestrewn area and how a human handles an uneven area, and then get the robot to operate the same way. And then the robots will be able to switch between all these behaviors, and suddenly
promised me when I was growing up. that impact that occurs with every step. Walking really is this delicate balance, too—
other methods used today really have that
what makes it really hard. Walking can be described as controlled falling. Humans sort of throw their legs forward and just know that
What are some of the hurdles to traversing Where is your research going next?
a difference between steady-state human behaviors—things that we do on a regular basis, such as climbing stairs—and walking
To learn more about the research on robotics, contact Aaron Ames at aames@tamu.edu, or contact Sarah Morgan at 979.862.6486 or sdmorgan@tamu.edu. 10 | Mechanical Engineering
w
Student:
John Mayo Hometown: College Station, Texas
A ‘show me, don’t tell me,’ kind of guy puts theory to the test.
John Mayo, a sophomore mechanical
Last spring he took the class Materials and Manufacturing Selection in Design. While reading his textbook, The Science and Engineering of Materials read this: brittle materials such as concrete are often incorporated into designs so that only compressive stresses act on the compressive stresses than tensile stresses. This is why it is ceramics have very limited mechanical toughness. Hence, John got to wondering if this was this a true statement. John says,
3000 pounds and four ceramic coffee mugs acquired from various trade shows. John describes his experiment: A wood sandwich helped distribute the load and protected the tires in case of fracture. I cut pieces of scrap wood to place above and below the cups, to provide a uniform surface. The wood also would insulate the ceramic from unevenness of the concrete driveway, especially if the truck shifted and put excessive pressure on only one edge of a cup. With a jack, two jack stands and wood blocks to keep the truck from rolling, I began at the front, left wheel. After ensuring that the transmission was set to ‘park’ and the parking brake engaged, I jacked up the wheel and gently lowered it back on the cup between two wood pieces. The cup did not break, so I added one under the front, passenger side next. The truck seemed stable, so I jacked the rear end under the differential, lifting both tires simultaneously. As soon as the
tires rose from the concrete, the truck rolled forward slightly, so I let it back down and checked on the front cups. Surprisingly, the coffee cups had not broken, even though they were both tilted with only one point on their rims supporting the truck. I quickly jacked the front end up again, and supported it slightly above the cups with jack stands. Next, I jacked the rear end up again and successfully installed the cup and wood ‘sandwiches’ under each tire. Then I used the jack to remove the jack stands at each front wheel, thus getting all four wheels supported on cups. After leaving the truck on the cups for the entire, windy night and most of the next day, I decided to test the cups further by jumping up and down in the truck bed. The cups seemed to be magically strong, so to prove to myself and others that these were ordinary ceramic cups, I used my phone to record a video clip of me breaking one of them (http://youtu. be/6K9BcB0HB4U). Wearing safety glasses and using a glass shield for the phone proved to be a wise decision, because the weight of the truck helped create an intense explosion of ceramic pieces when I tapped the cup with a hammer. The video clearly demonstrates that the cup is indeed ceramic and that the truck’s weight is substantial. John doesn’t think of these as ‘experiments’ but more of a ‘I wonder if...’ put into action. Once, for example, he and a buddy wondered whether they could harness some of Texas’ high winds to pull their bicycles down the road using parachute-like kites. Another time he and some pals decided that $200 was over their budget for a small catamaran mast them into a workable substitute.
He spends his spare time helping out the local high school and middle school robotics teams or restoring his 1978 CJ7 Jeep. In the future, John plans to pursue a MS in mechanical engineering and hopes to work on robotics-related technology such as space probes and rovers. This summer he’ll be working for Boeing in Mesa, Arizona on tooling mechanisms for Apache helicopters.
Mechanical Engineering | 11
Professor Hung-Jue Sue
Designing a better MRE A team of scientists led by a Texas A&M researcher has redesigned the way the U.S. Military packages its Meals, Ready to Eat. The MRE packaging hasn’t changed much in the last 31 years. New technology in Meal, Ready to Eat (MRE) packaging, developed in part by researchers at Texas A&M University, is set to be adopted by the United States military, saving the government millions of dollars a year, according to the professor who has a leading role in developing stronger and lighter packaging materials. Hung-Jue Sue, professor of mechanical engineering, participates with others in academia and industry in the Combat Rations Network (CORANET), a program organized by the Defense Logistics Agency with a goal of bringing modern manufacturing processes into the production of combat rations for soldiers.
The MRE packaging technology hasn’t changed much in the last 31 years, says Sue, director of the Polymer Technology
from metal and replaced it with plastic packaging that is lighter, more compact and The CORANET research program has re-
soldiers to put the meals in their pockets
the plastic outer covering of MRE packages. (plastic) as grocery bags, but they are much stronger and designed to withstand include everything from extreme temperature variations and the threat of insects, to being thrown out of a plane, says Sue. Researchers designed lighter MRE packages that are easier for soldiers to carry and less costly to produce, ship, and store. Sue and his team at Texas A&M developed a thin cardboard sleeve to replace some of the cardboard boxes that were used to store
Researchers from a variety of disciplines at Texas A&M took part in the testing in the Department of Entomology tested the packaging to ensure it was as resistant Agricultural Engineering, they looked at how the packaging impacts the food’s sure the plastic was safe and didn’t affect Sue says the new technology developed by CORANET researchers has passed all the testing required by the military and military is known to be conservative
material and space within the package;
they used metal cans and big boxes to Researchers also made the packaging
To learn more about the research on MRE packaging, contact the Polymer Technology Program at http://ptc.tamu.edu, or contact Dr. Hung-Jue Sue at hjsue@tamu.edu or Isabel Cantu at 979.458.0918/icantu@tamu.edu.
12 | Mechanical Engineering
carry the same contents, then more of it can be shipped at one time, so it becomes
a very big change for them and it’s about cutting the budget — saving money stepby-step. But at the end of the day, the
Student:
Matthew Scorsone Hometown: Sugar Land, Texas
Texas A&M has been one of the best decisions in my life.
A native of Sugar Land, Texas, Matthew Scorsone had to make
because it is the broadest engineering discipline, and I had an
a tough decision before coming to Texas A&M. He had two
aptitude for math and science and a desire to design. At the time
choices: The University of Texas or Texas A&M. After visiting both campuses within days of each other, the choice became
but I knew that Texas A&M’s excellent mechanical engineering
clear. The welcoming environment on the Texas A&M campus,
program would provide me with all the opportunities and skills
the dedication to core values, and the commitment to higher education called to Matthew.
Although Matthew wasn’t sure what he wanted to do at the beginning of his four years at Texas A&M, he is sure now. After
education, experiences, and friends I have made here will
graduating in May 2013, Matthew plans to attend graduate school for chemical engineering. His hope is that with a
After coming to Texas A&M, Matthew joined a number of
broad foundation in mechanical engineering and an in-depth understanding of chemical engineering, he will be able to help
semester, Matthew acted as the Texas A&M Powerlifting Team
design and optimize chemical processes and materials.
treasurer, and is currently in a Vice President position. In these positions, Matthew has had to use his leadership skills to manage a $10,000/year budget for travel, equipment, and
especially in my leadership skills through the excellent student
entry fees. He also organizes events and recruits new members.
activities program. Also, the abundance of student research at
But Matthew is also highly accomplished in the sport. Matthew
Texas A&M has provided numerous opportunities for me to work
placed second at the 2012 USAPL Collegiate Nationals, and he
in labs and gain experience in engineering research. This helped
holds many Texas Collegiate Raw Powerlifting records. He also
me make my decision to pursue graduate school. The excellent
holds an American Collegiate Raw Deadlift record.
education I have received will ensure I have the knowledge to
Aside from his many physical achievements, Matthew has also
advance in graduate school and industry, and the experiences I
worked hard in his academic groups. As intramural organizer
have gained outside the classroom have also helped me to build
of the Texas A&M chapter of the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), he organizes and coordinates the intramural sports teams of the entire society, which is the largest chapter in the nation. He also helps organize ASME recruiting events and assists in meetings with corporate sponsors.
Mechanical Engineering | 13
Origami Engineering Everything is foldable Engineers are finding they have much to learn from the artists who work in paper
Professor Richard Malak With practical implications ranging from minimally invasive engineering has evolved into a well-funded fount of innovation. In 2009 the Gracias Laboratory created the world’s smallest precisely patterned cube, a self-folding structure just 100 nanometers long on each side. Two years later, in a collaboration with researchers at the Johns Hopkins Medical School, hundreds of self-folding microgrippers were deployed and then retrieved to successfully biopsy the bile duct of a live pig. These were the
The eight groups funded by the NSF take a wide range of approaches toward folding. From the ridiculously cheap and simple Shrinky Dinks to a material so complex that it hasn’t been invented yet.
Origami’s growth took a new turn in 2012, when the National of Self-assembling Systems for Engineering Innovation (ODISSEI) program and granted some $16 million to 14 universities, with millions more to come. One of the many grant recipients is Max
you have a large enough sheet of material, you can bend it into models assume no thickness — we need algorithms to model
What these researchers are producing, however, rarely bares any resemblance to a Japanese paper crane. Engineers typically fold sheets of shape-memory alloys or polymers into threedimensional devices. The differences between these materials and paper highlight both the challenges and the possibilities of origami engineering. Unlike paper, these sheets can be coated envision smart sheets, so that if you need anything you just tell the sheets, ‘Make me a plate or make me a cup; make me Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Rus, along with engineering and math colleagues at MIT and Harvard, has already produced a small, hinged sheet that can fold itself into a boat and then into a paper-airplane shape. But also unlike paper, most of these materials have meaningful — and troublesome — thickness. Paper creases; a polymer or a metal can at best make a tight bend. MIT mathematician Erik Demaine has been modeling origami math for more than 15 years
14 | Mechanical Engineering
approaches toward folding. The NCSU team uses light to heat inkjet-printed lines on prestressed polymer sheets. The ridiculously cheap and simple process, discovered through serendipity by a team of undergraduate and graduate students, leads to forms children’s craft kit, Shrinky Dinks. The researchers fold Shrinky Dinks in order to test models for the scaling laws and mechanics State engineer in charge of the project. At the other end of the spectrum, Texas A&M is working with a material so complex that the engineers occasionally have to laugh to invent it. But the computer models developed by aerospace engineer Darren Hartl show great promise for a sandwich of two sheets of shape-memory alloy — prestressed to fold in opposing directions — separated by an insulator. A switched resistor network pattern, like a programmable version of the defrosting wires embedded in an automobile’s rear window, will trigger the bending action. With no hinges limiting the position of creases, the massively foldable sheet could theoretically take one of an
completely different. In a simulation recently published by Hartl, mechanical engineer Richard Malak, of Texas A&M, and their colleagues, the sheet becomes an airfoil to steer a spacecraft to a landing on Venus, and then curls into a cylinder to roll on the planet’s surface. Which of the many technologies will prevail in origami engineering ODISSEI grant to develop the Dagwood of origami sandwiches: layers of different materials that respond to magnetic, electrical, and thermal stimuli. Each layer will be preprogrammed to assume particular shapes. Rus of MIT and Harvard’s Robert Wood use hinges of shape-memory alloys actuated by electrical signals. The hinges are arranged in a pattern known to origami artists as a box pleat, a grid of squares divided by alternating diagonals. Rus, Wood, Demaine, and their students have developed an algorithm that can approximate any three-dimensional shape
Many origami engineers are pointing their folds toward the market for medical devices. Origami has two virtues that make origami-based devices can be minimally invasive en route to their destination in the body, expanding on arrival. This is the idea behind an origami stent that went into animal trials in 2012. Developed by Oxford University engineer Zhong You, the stent is a one-piece cylinder of titanium-nickel foil that collapses along helical and cross folds to half its full diameter for insertion. Existing stents are made of wire mesh, and their porosity complicates their function inside the arteries, according to You. The second advantage of folding surgical structures is their Swiss-Army-knife potential to accomplish more than a single task
The Eyeglass team built a prototype nearly as high as a two-story house that worked as predicted, but the giant space telescope has not been funded. Lang sees this process being equally useful have to carry both an iPad and an iPhone when an origami smart phone could unfold into a tablet. In manufacturing, origami’s new frontier is to create devices — particularly very small ones — that self-assemble from rollstock, leveraging the electronics industry’s expertise in patterning
books than from origami. Brigham Young University’s Department of Mechanical Engineering has spun off a company to market an injector they developed to insert DNA into a single mouse zygote cell. BYU’s prototype is composed of two micromachined layers of polycrystalline silicon. In operation, the hinged needle assembly rises from the base structure onto supports and then projects forward into the egg, powered by torsion stored in the structure. colleagues have termed such a machine a Laminate Emergent Mechanism, or LEM, but the coinventor of the nanoinjector also None of these origami-engineered devices is actually in commercial production yet. And engineering researchers working on the ODISSEI projects caution that years of basic research lie between the current state of technology and the day when origami-inspired products will become common in our homes and hospitals. Referring to self-folding systems, Malak of better, understanding what the limitations are, and then getting not dampen the enthusiasm of origami engineers at all. Says
Origami carries the exact same advantages to another frontier: outer space. When the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) came up with the idea of a space telescope that would dwarf Hubble, they approached Robert Lang, a trailblazer in origami art and science. Lang has nearly 50 patents in lasers and optoelectronics, but he left his research position at high-tech JDS Uniphase Corp. in 2001 to devote himself full time to origami. Today he rotates between folding commissioned artworks and consulting as an origami engineer. The same mathematical algorithms he developed to fold an elk from paper also worked when he consulted for a German automotive engineering company to improve its simulations of airbag folding.
in other materials, it will lead to very powerful systems with unprecedented performance; we will do things no one has ever
Reprinted with permission from ASEE and Prism magazine.
The LLNL’s design for the Eyeglass telescope called for a lens the lens divided into panes, Lang helped the laboratory devise a way to fold the lens for transport and unfold it for deployment. or to take on particular shape, that problem is already pretty
To learn more about the research on origami engineering contact Dr. Richard Malak at rmalak@tamu.edu or 979.845.1919. http://designsystems.tamu.edu/ http://origami.tamu.edu/ Mechanical Engineering | 15
Professor Jaime Grunlan
Organic Nanobricks nanobrick wall that does not allow gas to pass through it. Dr. Jaime Grunlan, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, and his research group replaced traditional, inorganic clay with graphene oxide. Graphene oxide has a carbon framework, and because it can be dispersed in water the way clay disperses, can be considered an organic clay.
the carbon nanotube was a decade ago, he said. Graphene oxide is expensive right now, so his process is not commercially viable at the moment. But once graphene oxide becomes more widely available the way carbon nanotubes now are, then the cost could come down.
thick and are created with the layer-by-layer assembly techgraphene oxide and polymer on top of each other. And because
hydrogen gas from carbon dioxide with a greater selectivity than has been previously demonstrated with more traditional
from carbon dioxide with a greater The technology is still in its infancy, but it could eventually
an important feature for the energy and packaging industries. This could be an important discovery for membrane separation, which is used to purify hydrogen gas, for example, by getting rid of all non-hydrogen molecules.
industry, to purify methane; industrial gas companies, which need to purify oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, or other gases for research, medical or industrial use; the food packaging industry, which needs to keep gases from spoiling packaged food; and even the electronics industry, which could use the technique to develop
least was below detection levels. At most, one carbon dioxide molecule passed through for every 380 hydrogen molecules, so
Grunlan holds the Gulf Oil/Thomas A. Dietz Professorship, and is also a faculty member in the interdisciplinary Materials Science of Chemical Engineering. This same technology is being used to
To learn more about the research on nanobricks, contact Dr. Jaime Grunlan at jgrunlan@tamu.edu or 979.845.3027. 16 | Mechanical Engineering
Student:
Katherine Collette Hometown: Houston, Texas I have felt welcomed from the moment I stepped on campus.
Katherine Collette decided to pursue a degree in engineering
Katherine has also involved herself by volunteering at the
after a summer internship at a motor plant. The designs,
Grace Bible Church and being the Development Director for the
manufacturing, and problem solving amazed her. She wasn’t
A&M Memorial Student Center. As the Development Director,
sure what type of engineering she wanted to focus on, but she
Katherine raises money to support MSC programs. These
decided that mechanical would prepare her well for any future
programs provide students with opportunities and leadership
in the industry. The broad knowledge base in mechanical
training. During football season, she is responsible for setting
engineering attracted her. Collette, a Houston native, came to Texas A&M because of relatives and the traditions that she fell in love with when visiting the campus. That love developed into a favorite tradition
“I’ve never once regretted my decision to come to Texas A&M University – I have felt welcomed from the moment I stepped on campus.”
the physical and mental struggles that she’s endured to achieve her diploma. It’s a representation of great achievement. In her time at Texas A&M and in the department, Dr. Harry Hogan
up receptions for Aggie alumni and donors before home football
students and it shows in his teaching and everyday interactions.
food, entertainment, and space. During the spring semester,
I know I can always go to him with my questions, my concerns,
she continues to set up luncheons for donors before basketball
my fears about the future, and he will listen to me and try to
games. Each year, the development board raises over $600,000 for MSC programs.
During her time at Texas A&M and in mechanical engineering,
Graduating in May of 2013, Katherine will return to Houston
Katherine has joined the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers). As the Special Events Chair, Katherine has become even more involved in the organization she loves. ASME has helped her see the prospects afforded to mechanical
my decision to come to Texas A&M University – I have felt
engineers after graduation. The Society provides opportunities
welcomed from the moment I stepped on campus. You can tell
for students to interact with companies in a range of industries,
that the students here love their university; it makes it fun to be
graduate schools, and research labs. By being a part of ASME, Katherine has been able to make better-informed decisions about her future after graduation.
Mechanical Engineering | 17
The Fowler Distinguished Lecture Series Funded by: Mr. Donald W. Fowler ‘66 and Dr. Joe R. Fowler ‘68
Mr. Donald W. Fowler ‘66 is a member of the Academy of Distinguished Graduates of the Department of Mechanical Engineering. which for over twenty-eight years has provided a variety of energy cost-reduction services to large users of electricity, natural gas, water, and wastewater. Don is a registered professional engineer. Mechanical Engineers and a Senior Member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers. Don is a Member of the Association of Energy EnTexas Section of ASME. Don holds several U.S. and foreign patents related to offshore and onshore processing and transportation of compressed natural gas. Don and his wife, Joyce, have 5 children, 8 grandchildren, and live in Austin. Dr. Joe R. Fowler ‘68 is a former member and chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering’s Developmental and Advisory Board. Joe is President and co-founder of Stress Engineering Services, Inc., an engineering and testing services to a variety of industries. A registered professional engineer, Joe is a Engineers, a member of the Society of Experimental Mechanics, the Society of Petroleum Engineers, and is a past-president of ABET, Inc. (formerly the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology). In 2012, he was named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year. He currently serves on the Board of the Off-shore Technology Conference. Joe and his wife, Linda, have 3 children (all Aggies), and 9 grandchildren.
18 | Mechanical Engineering
Northwestern University Northwestern in 1969, where he has been the W. P. Murphy Professor since 1990 and, since 2002, the McCormick Institute Professor. He was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, the American Academy of Arts & Sciences, as well as the European Academy of Sciences & Arts. He is an honorary member of ASME, ASCE, and ACI. Timoshenko, Warner, and Nadai Medals; the ASCE von Karman, Newmark, Biot, and Croes Medals; and the RILEM L’Hermite Medal and Torrajo Medal. He has authored six books and is one of the original top 100 ISI Highly Cited Scientists in Engineering.
Professor Vijay K. Dhir University of California Los Angeles Professor Vijay K. Dhir is a Distinguished Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and is the Dean of the Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science at UCLA since 2003. Dhir was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2006. He was the recipient of the 2004 Max Jakob Memorial Award of ASME and AIChE. He also received the ASME Heat Transfer Memorial Award in 1992 and the AIChE Donald Q. Kern award in Society. He is the author or co-author of over 300 papers published archival journals and proceedings of conferences. In 2004, Dhir was inducted into the University of Kentucky’s Engineering Hall of Distinction.
Professor Yildiz Bayazitoglu Rice University Professor Yildiz Bayazitoglu is the Harry S. Cameron Chair Professor in Mechanical Engineering at Rice University since 1996. engineering from the University of Michigan. In 2012, she was elected an honorary member of the ASME and received the Society of Women Engineers Achievement Award. Bayazitoglu has served as the chair of the ASME Heat Transfer Division and a member of the executive committee of International Center of Heat and Mass Transfer. In addition to publishing extensively and co-writing two undergraduate textbooks, she is the American editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Thermal Sciences.
Student:
Chris McDonald Hometown: Plano, Texas Muster. It instills in you a passionate appreciation for the Aggie Spirit and life.
Chris has also become involved in research at Texas A&M and in week, Chris is getting his undergraduate degree in mechanical
the department, working with Dr. Devesh Ranjan on Richtmyer-
engineering, a minor in business, and a project management the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), the Aggie
research is an important step towards creating a sustainable
Investing Club, and the Entrepreneurship Society (E-Society). As
fusion reaction. The creation of a sustainable fusion reaction
the Meetings Chair for E-Club, Chris is responsible for contacting
would generate virtually unlimited power on a global scale,
guest speakers — mainly successful Aggie entrepreneurs — and
solving many of the world’s current energy woes.
setting up club meetings with them.
When Chris started working for Dr. Ranjan, he did not know
Growing up in Plano, Texas and having a second home in La
anything about the research, but a year later Dr. Ranjan has
Grange, Texas, Chris decided Texas A&M was the per-fect choice
had a profound impact on him. Chris turned the undergraduate
for him both academically and geographically. Mechanical
assistantship into an opportunity with hard work. Today, Dr.
engineering called to him during his junior year of high school
Ranjan has helped guide Chris by presenting chances to have his
while sitting in a physics class listening to a friend discuss a
work recognized. This past year, Chris won the grand prize for
recent campus visit and the mechanical engineering program.
his student poster at the American Physical Society (APS) 65th
The conversation led Chris to choose Texas A&M based on the outstanding mechanical engineering program.
Graduating in December of 2013, Chris plans to enter the
Since joining the Aggie Network, Chris has come to the realization
mechanical engineering graduate program at Texas A&M.
that the Texas A&M student body is pulled together by the great Ranjan and the Mechanical Engineering department here at many more. When asked what his favorite tradition at A&M was,
A&M have been so helpful in preparing me for what is ahead after graduation. My participation in undergraduate studies has been
for the Aggie Spirit and for life. Muster is a distinguishing
a huge part of my development here, and I highly recommend students get involved. The APS conference has served as the
together every year to individually pay respect to each and every
culmination of my undergraduate research experience thus far, providing a wonderful learning experience. Winning the grand
A&M who feel the same.
Mechanical Engineering | 19
Donor Recognition and Gifts in 2012 At the heart of the department’s priorities is developing new difference in students’ lives. The department awards more than $350,000 in scholarships and fellowships annually to deserving students. Scholarships assist students with the cost of education. They are awarded on the basis of academic criteria, but can also
designed to reward, encourage and assist students in pursuing Generous support from former students, private industry, and community groups provides these scholarships. Without your help, college would not be possible for many of our students. A scholarship is a very personal investment — a special agreement between a donor and a student. A scholarship is an their ability to achieve it.
Mr. and Mrs. Quentin Baker and Baker Engineering & Risk established the Baker Engineering & Risk/ Quentin and Jana Baker Fellowship. Quentin and Jana’s gift was matched by the Turbomachinery Lab raising be graduate students in mechanical engineering and preference given to students working in combustion sciences in the Turbomachinery Lab. Quentin is a member of the Department of Mechanical Engineering Industry Advisory Council.
Mr. & Mrs. Joel D. Talley ‘83 donated $50,000 to the continued support of the Sharon & Joel Talley ‘83 Scholarship. After creating the scholarship in 2011, Joel and Sharon decided to add an additional $50,000 in 2012, bringing the value to $100,000.
20 | Mechanical Engineering
Mr. C.C. Burton ‘42 established the Lou & C.C. Burton ‘42 Scholarship Fund in Mechanical Engineering. This $25,000 endowment will provide one or more scholarships to fulltime juniors or seniors in good standing pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering.
donated a gift of $25,000 to establish the William T. Asbill ‘66 Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship is in memory of William T. Asbill, director and senior vice president of Stress passed away in October 2011.
Siblings Bryan, John and Kay McDaniel established the William Bryan McDaniel, Jr. ‘47 and Frances Thomas McDaniel Memorial Scholarship in honor of their parents. William McDaniel Jr., Class of 1947, graduated with Bachelor of Science degrees in industrial engineering and mechanical engineering. During his time at Texas A&M, he was a member of the Corps of Cadets and Student Engineers’ Council. The couple lived in Shreveport, La., and were longstanding century club members
Mr. and Mrs. Herb Miller established the L.H. Harlin Foundation Excellence Award to help a deserving and worthy student. Herb and Barbara created the $25,000 award in order to provide scholarships to under-represented groups, including minorities and students from economically and educationally disadvantaged backgrounds.
Mr. Charles R Munnerlyn ‘62 established the James H. Munnerlyn ‘58 Memorial Scholarship in Mechanical Engineering with a gift of $25,000 in honor of his brother James who passed away December 14, 2012. James was a graduate of mechanical engineering while Charles’ degree was in physics, both from Texas A&M. The funds will be used to provide scholarships to one or more full-time students pursuing an undergraduate degree in mechanical engineering.
$20
$99
Percy G. Anderson, Jr. '49 William Cobb David M. Brown '85 James T. Gray Ronny L. Hise '08 Jacqueline Q. Hodge '96 Kelly S. Jacobsen '82 David J. Kowalczyk, Jr. '07 Mr. Jason D. Liscum ‘00 & Ms. Suzanne Liscum ‘99 Matthew R. Lund '86 William J. Manning '55 Michael McKinney William B. Peyton '62 Scott T. Rappaport ‘06 Stephen L. Wolhart '80 Youngs Capital Inc. Joseph J. Zierer, Jr. ‘89
$100
$249
Marlene S. Bailey David M. Brown ‘85 Robert W. Davies ‘45 Thomas A. Hassold '80 Kanthi G. Kannan '97 Wayne C. Lin '92 Mr. & Mrs. Dan L. Lindsey '72 Lockheed Martin Foundation Michael D. Nassif, Jr. ‘00 William Penny '60 Mr. & Mrs. David J. Pierpoline '81 Mr. & Mrs. Michael R. Smith '80 Texas Instruments Foundation Textron Incorporated United Technologies Corporation
$250
$499
Randall J. Armstrong '85 Mr. Lawrence R. Bloomquist '79 & Mrs. Amy J. Bloomquist ‘83 Chevron Humankind J. Christopher Cook ‘93 Maryann Guill Couch Charles H. Havis '84 Cap. Jeremy D. Hooper ‘02 Eugene P. Janulis Omez S. Mesina ‘93 One Stop Automotive Inc. Michael S. Reddin ‘82 Society of Automotive Engineers Philip A. Tschoepe '80
$500
$999
R. Christopher Bradley ‘84 Nhai T. Cao ‘91 Calvin B. Cobb Ramesh Khatri Joe Travis Lundy ‘01 Shankar B. Narayanan '11 Chad R. Searcy ‘98 William L. Shepherd '61
$1,000
$9,999
The American Endownment Foundation Susan Dwayne Bankston ‘00 Mr. & Mrs. Russell I Bayh, III ‘75 The Boeing Company Bechtel Corporation Mr. & Mrs. William G. Caughlin ‘49 Dr. and Mrs. Dara Childs Clay Development and Construction Ruth G. Cohen Early B. Denison ‘66 DOW Chemical Foundation Foster Family Foundation Fowler Energy Company
Fluor Enterprises, Inc. Halliburton Energy Services Mr. & Mrs. Michael D. Johnson Scott D. Josey '79 Mr. Sandeep Kishan '85 & Dr. Ruby Kishan ‘82 Linbeck Group LLC John R. Long ‘75 Mr. & Mrs. Antonio Pelletier '75 Mr. & Mrs. Donald Ray '68 Donald R. Schroeter ‘63 Schwab Charitable Fund Shell Oil Company Foundation Society of Plastic Engineers Larry G. Porter & Associates Kyle M. Richter '10 The Triquetra Foundation Tulsa Community Foundation Jerry W. Wauters '79 Mary Belle Wooddy Samer G. Younis ‘82
$10,000
Above
Mr. & Mrs. Quentin Baker '78 James J. Cain ‘51 Baker Engineering & Risk Consultants BP Corporation ConocoPhillips Chevron Culthbert C. Burton '42 ExxonMobile Foundation Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Dr. & Mrs. Joe R. Fowler ‘68 Kaneka Corporation Bryan, John & Kay McDaniel Herb & Barbara Miller Charles R. Munnerlyn ‘62 Schlumberger Technology Cooperation Mr. & Mrs. Joel D. Talley ‘83 Max R. Vordenbaum ‘73
Mechanical Engineering | 21
Awards and Honors
Andrew Duggleby, assistant professor, received the ASME Fluids Engineering Division’s Robert E. Knapp award for the 2012 best paper.
CAREER Awards Two faculty members in the Department of Mechanical Engineering had the distinction of receiving prestigious award. The Devesh Ranjan, assistant professor in mechanical engineering,
won the
Ranjan joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering in January 2009. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 2007. By 2008 phenomena and experimental thermal hydraulics, and laser diagnostics. Nicole Zacharia, assistant professor in the Materials Science and Engineering
Zacharia joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering Materials Division in 2009. She received her Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Jaime Grunlan, associate professor, received the L.E. Scriven Young Investigator Award from the International Society of Coating Science and Technology (ISCST). The recipient of this award is recognized for innovative and high-impact research into coating methods and and electronic applications. Those nominated for this award must be 40 years old or younger. Grunlan also received the Dwight Look College of Engineering E. D. Brockett Professorship for his contributions toward teaching and service to the engineering program. Timothy Jacobs, associate professor, received the Association of Former Students Distinguished Achievement Award for his outstanding teaching. presented in 1955 and have since been awarded to 930 professionals who have exhibited the highest standards of excellence at Texas A&M. Each recipient receives a cash gift, an engraved watch, and a commemorative plaque. Reza Langari, professor, was elected a Senior Member of the AIAA.
TEES Select Young Faculty Raymundo Arroyave, associate professor, received his M.S. and Ph.D from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined Texas A&M in 2006 and previously was a postdoctoral scholar at Pennsylvania State University. Devesh Ranjan, assistant professor, joined the Texas A&M faculty in 2009. He was previously a postdoctoral research associate and a director’s research fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the National Institute of Technology, Trichy (india), and master’s and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Wisconsin, all in mechanical engineering. David Staack, assistant professor, received his B.S. and M.S. from the University of Virginia and his Ph.D. from Drexel University and is the author or co-author of more than 20 peer-reviewed journal publications. Staack Choongho Yu, assistant professor, joined Texas A&M in 2007. He was previously a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Yu earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Korea University and a Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin, all in mechanical engineering.
University-Level Awards Ibrahim Karaman, professor and Chair of Materials Science and Engineering Interdisciplinary Achievement Award in Research. Arun Srinivasa, Achievement Award in Teaching. 22 | Mechanical Engineering
Gerald Morrison, professor, received the Association of Former Students Teaching Award. Anastasia Muliana, associate professor, received the Herbert H. Richardson Faculty Fellow Award. Alan Palazzolo, professor, received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 13th International Symposium on Magnetic Bearings. Miladin Radovic, associate professor, received the Herbert H. Richardson Faculty Fellow Award. Devesh Ranjan, assistant professor, received the Dwight Look College of Engineering Caterpillar Teaching Excellence Award Award for his contributions toward teaching and service to the engineering program. Bryan Rasmussen, associate professor, received the U.S. Department of Energy Excellence in Applied Energy Engineering Research. Nicole Zacharia, assistant professor, received the Morris E. Foster ‘65 Faculty Fellowship. Xinghang Zhang, associate professor, received a Dwight Look College of
2012 Industry Advisory Council A key element in the success of the mechanical engineering program is the
Terry Baughn Raytheon Company
industrial friends. Of particular importance is the Industry Advisory Council,
Larry Bloomquist Mechanical Reps, Inc.
interact more effectively with our primary customers. Composed of individuals who are leaders in industry and government agencies, the council provides a broad perspective on the changing requirements for engineering education, and it helps the department identify new opportunities in research. Many changes in the department are the result of the guidance provided by this distinguished council.
Thomas Burger ExxonMobil Corporation Jim Bylander 3M Company Howard E. Decker Goetting & Associates Dana D. Dorsey 3M Emtech D.E. “Dori” Ellis Sandia National Laboratories Lynn Fister Bechtel Corporation
Randy Armstrong
Rodney Moss
Raytheon Company
Balfour Beatty Construction
Quentin Baker Baker Engineering & Risk Consultants, Inc.
Arnold Muyshondt Sandia National Laboratories
Joe Fowler Stress Engineering
Tony Pelletier Alamo Resources LLC
John Fuller Aurora Flight Services
Russell Bayh III Halliburton Energy Services Tony Best St. Mary Land & Exploration Company
David J. Pierpoline BP
Kennon Guglielmo ‘88 EControls, Inc. Brenda Hightower ‘81 Celanese Chemicals Ltd.
James Blacksmith URS Coporation
Larry Porter Council Chair Larry G. Porter & Associates
Tom Bundy ConocoPhillips
Mark Santen The Boeing Company
David Fulbright Cheetah Tool Systems
Ty Schmitt Dell Computers
Lawrence Paul Graviss Eagle Engineering Group Inc.
Michael Smith
Raymond Marlow Marlow Industries, Inc.
Bell Helicopter
Charlie A. Mast
Robert Tolles Twin Creek Technologies
Ernie McWilliams Reliant Energy
Charlie Havis Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Eugene P. Janulis 3M Company Scott Josey Apache Corporation Sandeep Kishan ERG JWL Engineering Kathy Lynn Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
Phil Tschoepe Jerry Wauters Vice President Halliburton Completion Tools William Richard Welch Knust-SBO
Frank “A.J.” Jones Applied Materias Larry Macicek Lisa Mahlmann Lockheed Martin Aeronautics
Joe Merritt Srinivas Mirmira RedShift Ventures Paul Park Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Antonio “Tony” Perez, Jr. Motorola Semiconductors
Jimmy Williams, Jr. Alcoa Technical Center
Thaddeus H. Sandford Boeing Integrated Defense Systems
L. Dale Wooddy III Medco Energi USA
Craig Strehl Ken Taylor General Dynamics
Mechanical Engineering | 23
Undergraduate & Graduate Programs Graduate Fellowships
Mechanical engineering involves the design of all types of machines and equipment including robots, biomedical devices, vehicles for ground, air and space transportation, machines for converting fuels into energy, consumer products, and the climate control of buildings. Mechanical engineers bring together design graphics, materials, manufacturing, thermodynamics and heat transfer, and the principles of mathematics and science to
for engineering students, polymers, and systems safety engineering. Students can also take advantage of exchange programs to enrich their international experience. In addition, almost all of our students gain practical real-world experience during their undergraduate studies through participation in internships or cooperative education employment. All of these provide our students with more skills and a broader education than in earlier years. work directly in the design and operation Our graduates are also well positioned of food processing plants, power plants, to continue in graduate school to pursue advanced degrees and make lasting industrial operations. The goal of our contributions in research. undergraduate program is to provide our Because of the large demand for mechanical graduates with the analytical and practical engineering and limited resources, skills needed to be productive, successful the department has an enrollment and assume leadership roles in a variety of management program to bring enrollment in line with the available resources and Our program includes courses on design, facilities. Students are required to make a prescribed grade point average (GPA) on a dynamics, energy conversion, properties and selection of materials, manufacturing, to be admitted to the upper division of the and the application of computers to these Department of Mechanical Engineering. topics. The curriculum balances basic The results of this program may be seen in fundamentals, analytical methods and design applications of current knowledge, and 1200. preparing our graduates for entry into the Our program graduates approximately 200 profession and a lifelong career. students per year. Monitoring admission to The employers of our graduates include aircraft and automobile companies, food processing companies, machinery and equipment companies, oil companies, semi-conductor manufacturers, gas and electric utilities, architectural and federal, state and local governments.
the upper division when student demand for places in our program is so strong, and when the demand for our graduates is so high, has resulted in an even higher caliber graduate, because only the best students are able to enter into the program. Our undergraduate students are among the
Our academic programs at the under- school year, the department admitted 34
2012/2013 GRADUATE FELLOWSHIPS Bowen Fellowship Thomas Finn Carlos De La Guardia Hristo Goumnerov Kenneth McCown III
Shawanee Patrick Michael Penny Daniel Steck
Crawford Fellowship Taymaz Jozaghi Kartik Josyula Jue Li Xiaojun Li Peng Liu
Zhixiao Liu Jae Hyung Park Christopher Price Trevor Terrill
Fletcher Fellowship Qiong Bai Pallab Bai Yi Chen Wongyu Choi Andrew Crandall
Debashis Dey Zhe Fan Seyed Ghoreyshi Lingnan Hu Woongsun Jeon
Graduate Assistantship Edwin Youmsi Pete Xiaowan Shan Chao-Cheng Shiau Jessica White Zhujiang Wang Xin Wang Hongtao Yu
Zhi Yuan Min Zhang Pengyue Zhang Wenfei Zhang Xiaozhong Zhang Yong Zheng Hootan Zirakdeh
Kozik-Hervey Fellowship Skylar Creel
Reed Tool Fellowship Christopher Bay
Thompson Fellowship Jennifer Gaines Kevin Havis Swathi Manda
Alireza Mashayekh Kyle McVay
2012/2013 Undergraduate Scholarships Professor Edwin S. Holdredge Award Henry Harrity David Kline Justin Montgomery Chris Moseley Christopher Newkirk
San Antonio Endowed Mechanical Engineering Scholarship Wyatt Smitherman Marissa Marrs
Judy K. and Donald Ray ‘68 Scholarship Brian Ramirez
in the past ten years. Students have more The fact that we make most national options today to enrich their education. corporations’ short list for preferential Many of our students take advantage of undergraduate program continues to be one of the best in the country. The success beyond the traditional curriculum and gain of our graduates is the best indication of the quality of our program, as is the recent increase in total scholarships and dollars areas of energy engineering, engineering awarded to our undergraduates. project management, engineering 24 | Mechanical Engineering
K.R. Ramamani Undergraduate Thesis Award Justin Montgomery
Ted and Dee Stephens ‘52 Scholarship Hans Truelson
2012/2013 Undergraduate Scholarship Awards Advisory Council Scholarship Kelsey Brown Matthew Daigle Jon Elizondo Allison Kingsley Timothy Kroeger
Sarah Martin James McCabe Patrick Odenborg Kenneth Ogbonnaya Sarah Powers
Joel Sam Juan Silva Ashley Simmons Caitlyn Talbert Lois Woodswort
Billie G. Earnheart Memorial Scholarship Fund Henry Harrity
Mr. & Mrs. Thomas E. Fisher ‘66 Scholarship Andrew Bradley
Clarence Albert ‘29 Scholarship Gladys M. & William D. Allison ‘44 Scholarship Brooke Kaiser
Dolores Guia Gritaporn Saichua
Ryan Gordon Bridget Hill
Sarah Lemay Timothy Woolse
Edmond I. Bailey ‘61 Memorial Scholarship Hans Truelson
David Beachum
Eric Ho
Morris E. Foster ‘65 Scholarship Zachary Branigan
Katherine Letourneau
Joe C. Merritt ‘63 Endowed Scholarship Madison Alsup Vada Dillawn
Jonathan Fitzgerald Carlos Garza
Edward R. Mrozik Scholarship Ivan Cortes
Ginny & Emmitt J. Nelson ‘51Scholarship William McGinnis
Victoria Nguyen
Marie M. & James H. Galloway, JR ‘29 Scholarship
Thomas Christopher O’Leary ‘12 Memorial Scholarship Kelsey Magliolo
Tara Givens
Bechtel Scholarship Autumn Copley
Matthew Riley
Justin Rydell
Alison J. Berry ‘76 Scholarship Alejandra Rivera
Bobbie & Louis Gee ‘44 Endowed Scholarship Seth Loveall
Michelle Wise
Mary Ann & Gordon Gibson ‘55 Scholarship Ashley Helferich
Henry J. Bettencourt, Jr. ‘49 Scholarship Tyler Romero
Daniel Chacko Krishan Desai Trevor Kelley Jennifer Kosniewski
Gregory Krauss Nicholas Maass Saray Martinez Royce Otahal
Klint Sadjek Jonathan Wienecke
Mr. & Mrs. Douglas E. Broussard ‘44 Scholarship Colin Breedlove Erin Boese John Charlesworth
Katherine Crouch Kira Erb
David Rodin David Teter
Clayton T. Burger ‘00 Scholarship Shady Saleh
Daniel Gusewelle Mitchell Matthews
Mark McClelland Garrett McDaniel Clayton Mulvihill Joseph Orozco Andrew Nemec
Alyssa Rinehart Travis Schott Sean Sculley Connor Veale
A. W. Guill ‘41 Endowed Scholarship Maxwell Anthony
Andrew Johnson
John Theiss
Janice and William Hanna ‘58/Koch Industries Scholarship Gabriel Cunha Christopher Kirkland
Scott Lenfest Jack Reid
Janet & Thomas Paul ‘62 Scholarship Zachary Albrecht Micah Highnight
William M. Hays, Jr. ‘64 Scholarship Charles Jackson ‘50 Scholarship
Pioneer Natural Resources Scholarship Maximo Acosta Chan Chea Michael Guymon Hung Nguyen
Irina Popova Daniel Powell Herbey Ramirez
Cockrell/Freeport-McMoRan Scholarship Andera Abeln
Timi Ogunbekun Qi Xie
David Sanders ‘90 Scholarship Kevin Addamo
Thad Sandford ‘62 Scholarship Jacob Dean
Trevor Jackson
Schulmberger ASME Scholarship Katherine Collette
Timothy Woolsey
Schlumberger PTS Scholarship Linda & Ralph Schmidt ‘68 Scholarship Evelyn Brower
Patricia Meehan
Mary Jo & Donald R. Schroeter ‘63 Scholarship
Matthew Gill
Thuy Duong
Joshua Hughes Ryan Reed
Carlos Lopez
Mary Witte
Vandiver L. Childs, JR Capt. USAF, Memorial Scholarship
William Bloomer
Tim Kerlee, Jr. Memorial Endowed Scholarship
Mollie & Jim Schulze ‘50 Scholarship Garret Hallmark
Tanner Kirk
Christian DeBuys
Aaron Cohen ‘52 Engineering Scholarship Fund Weston Gallo
Jeanette & Robert B. Conn ‘51Scholarship Aeriel Corey
Don P. Dixon ‘57 & Sons Scholarship Michael Anderson
DOW Aggies Endowed Scholarship Bradley Hewitt
Craig Nolen
Eva C. & Ernst H. Gras ‘44 Memorial Scholarship David Baker Carolyn Day
BP America Scholarship in Mechanical Engineering
Jessica McMenis Sarah Widger
Matthew Martinez
Paul Skinner Michael Zeagler
FMC Technologies Scholarship
ASME Golf/MESF Scholarship
Lauren Mitchell
Mechanical Engineering Scholarship
Fluor Aggies Scholarship
Aaron Morales
Justin Buskmiller Isabel Caldwell Emmanuel Etumadu
John Lassalle
Eddie & Joe Mattei ‘53 Scholarship
Scholarship
John A. Langston ‘12 Scholarship Fund Michael Bass Ellen Geis Matthew Hill Jose Gonzalez Kaylee Jackson
David Johnstone Caitlin Laneri Zachary Leonard Divyesh Patel Robert Price
Marshall Robert Lauren Scott Hayley Sparks Ellen Tendall Amber Wilds
Kathryn Aymond
Alexander Jang
Keith R. Slaughter ‘49 Scholarship Moriah Efries
Frank M. & Wilton H. Leverett Scholarship Travis Blankenship Kristine Kuse
Rigoberto Lopez Hilary Lumpkins
Elizabeth and Raymond Marlow ‘53 Endowed Scholarship Morgan Goosmann Maria Gracia
Joshua Lockhart Gregory Merrill
Jean Paul Musonera
Michael Alvarez Kyle Baylis Kayla Cloud Timothy Davis Jillian Freise Jacob Friedrich
Carlos Garza Henry Harrity Nathan Hogg Aaron Jackson Justin Montgomery Shannon Murray
Christopher Newkirk Renata Nowobilski Brian Reid Morgan Stabell Parker West
Emil & Liz Swize Scholarship Ryan Falk
Tenaris-Roberto Rocca Scholarship Robert Cheyne
William Whitten
Mechanical Engineering | 25
Student:
Eric Williams Hometown: Leonard, Texas
A&M is a special place.
Growing up on a farm in Leonard, Texas, Eric Williams
and, for Eric, it was Dr. Andrew Duggleby and his class MEEN
knew from a young age that he wanted to pursue a degree in ultimately this class instilled in me a love for programming. The systems became an everyday occurrence, and Eric began to
class was also important because we weren’t really taught how
enjoy the time he spent on machines. He loved to know how things worked. Texas A&M was the natural choice for college
were expected to learn by immersion. We had to teach ourselves
because their engineering program is exceptional. So far, Eric has enjoyed everything about his experience at Texas
search agents. This taught me that no matter how tough a task, I
A&M — he loves the people and the faculty. To him, Texas A&M
can work hard and teach it to myself. The students learned how
Much like every other Aggie, Eric enjoys the Texas A&M
In his spare time, Eric enjoys working out and playing sports. In
thinking about Muster. Bringing thousands of Aggies together
he gets, Eric will be playing one of those two. He also involves
around the world to remember those who have fallen is a very
himself in both triathlon and marathon training. Eric is an active volunteer both in the church and Aggie communities. He will have participated in four Big Events by the time he graduates.
Aggie Ring acts as a public display to others that you attended
Although Eric doesn’t graduate until May 2013, Baker-Hughes,
one of the greatest universities on Earth. It is too cool when you travel outside your area and spot an older alumni wearing an
engineer. He will be moving to Corpus Christi in June.
Eric also really enoys The Big Event and how it gives back to the
engineering program that puts us ahead of graduates from other
community, as well as Howdy and how it is used as a welcoming
engineering schools. We have professors who are leaders in their
attitude. Between the traditions, his classes and his extracurricular activities, Eric is a busy guy. As President of Pi Tau Sigma (National Mechanical Engineering Honor Society) and a member of Tau Beta Pi (National Engineering Honor Society), Eric is committed to the mechanical engineering degree.
26 | Mechanical Engineering
are always pushed in our classes. There is a reason why A&M is one of the top universities in the nation that job recruiters look to hire at. Outside of academics, A&M is very culturally diverse and I believe that helps prepare students for what lies ahead in
Student Associations Today’s world needs leaders who can communicate, who can seek answers beyond traditional academic boundaries, and who can understand the social and ethical consequences of their work. The department is facing this challenge by providing experiences that encompass both academic and extracurricular opportunities. This means offering our students opportunities to participate in the community to build on existing community service and to take part in leadership development programs. Our goal is to show our students that we are committed to their success and to help them understand that they belong to a larger international community.
ASHRAE
ASME
Materials Advantage
ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) was established in 1959. The Texas A&M Branch of the Houston Chapter of ASHRAE aids in the continuing education of students in the Colleges of Engineering and Architecture in Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC). Application to the TAMU Branch is open at any time during the semester. The branch organizes monthly meetings with presentations by industry
The ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) at Texas A&M University is the second largest ASME student chapter in the world. ASME hosts weekly meetings where industry representatives come and present information about their companies and provide career advice to the student engineers. The ASME chapter also provides member events such as tailgates and company socials. In addition to highlighting employment opportunities for graduates through these meetings and socials, ASME contributes to the success of the department. Over $40,000 was raised at last year’s 5th Annual ASME Golf Tournament, resulting in over $22,000 towards student scholarships as well as an endowment. This recordbreaking performance is set to be broken by this year’s tournament.
The Material Advantage Student Chapter at Texas A&M promotes increasing knowledge of materials science and engineering and all its branches, assists its members in their academic endeavors, and professional pride in their chosen life work. Material Advantage students receive
Pi Tau Sigma
SAE
The Pi Tau Sigma Honor Society recognizes the outstanding achievements of undergraduate students in mechanical engineering. The Texas A&M chapter initiates 10 to 20 new members a semester. By participating in chapter activities, students can serve their community and interact with leaders in industry. Since Pi Tau Sigma membership is for life, over twenty faculty members in the Department of Mechanical Engineering share a link with current students. Pi Tau Sigma also promotes leadership engineering by keeping members informed about opportunities in industry and in graduate programs across the nation. The chapter will host the 2014 Pi Tau Sigma National Convention, an event that brings members from across the nation to discuss today’s engineering problems.
SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers)
seminars. It provides members the opportunity to network with members of the HVAC industry during trips to the annual Houston Student Night and the annual winter and summer conferences. ASHRAE offers its student members the opportunity to apply for scholarships and compete in HVAC design competitions.
MEGSO MEGSO, the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Student Organization, promotes positive communication within the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Program at Texas A&M University. To achieve its mission, MEGSO provides a forum for communication between faculty and the graduate student body and promotes the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Program at Texas A&M. An important role of MEGSO is to help the department recruit prospective graduate students. Monthly speaker meetings are held so members can get together to promote social and professional interaction, and to inform members about current issues that affect mechanical engineering graduate students.
international professional organizations: American Ceramic Society (ACerS), Iron & Steel Technology (AIST), Materials Information Society (ASM) and Minerals, Metals and Materials Society (TMS). The Material Advantage Student Chapter at Texas A&M organizes technical meetings, seminars, dinners with guest speakers, industrial tours, and student poster competitions every year. It also provides help applying for the large numbers of different national and local scholarships and fellowships.
organization dedicated to advancing mobility technology to better serve humanity. The Texas A&M student chapter of SAE provides opportunities for students to learn about transportation industry challenges. Texas A&M SAE also offers students the chance to gain realworld design experience by participating competition. Students design, construct, test, and compete with a small race car. Today, Texas A&M SAE now participates in the Grassroots Motorsports Challenge Hybrid involvement. Over the past 14 years, Texas A&M SAE has ex-posed hundreds of engineers to hands-on practical and theoretical design of automotive systems. Mechanical Engineering | 27
Faculty The Department of Mechanical Engineering faculty are committed to providing students with the knowledge, compassion and critical thinking skills not only to be successful in their chosen career, but also to serve humankind throughout their lives. The faculty are in the classroom and laboratory every day preparing the next generation of leaders and pursuing life-changing research discoveries. After class and in the evenings, faculty advise and mentor A&M students and student organizations, taking a special interest in ensuring student success. This level of commitment has positioned Texas A&M at the top statewide in student retention and graduation and made Texas A&M the university of choice for students from all walks of life. Texas A&M University has a total of more than 2,700 faculty members. We offer more than 120 undergraduate degrees and more than 240 master’s and doctoral degrees as well as a doctorate in veterinary medicine. Many of these programs are ranked among the very best in their respective disciplines. More than 2,000 companies actively recruit our graduates through the University’s Career Center.
Andreas A. Polycarpou Department Head & Meinhard J. Kotzebue Professor Ph.D., State University of New York at Research: microtribodynamics, nanomechanical property measurements and modeling, engineering tribology.
Jerald A. Caton Associate Department Head & Gulf Oil/Thomas A. Dietz Professor Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1980 Research: internal combustion engines, modeling engine and combustion processes and thermomechanics and fundamental and applied combustion topics.
28 | Mechanical Engineering
Harry A. Hogan
Aaron D. Ames
Kalyan Annamalai
Undergraduate Coordinator & Associate Professor Ph.D., Texas A&M University, 1984
Assistant Professor Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley, 2006
G. Paul Pepper Professor Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology, 1975
Research: orthopedic biomechanics and bone biomechanics, investigations of changes in properties due to mech-
Research: hybrid systems, dynamical systems and control, mechanics and robotics, complexity and fragility, algebraic topology and homology, hybrid system implementation, and embedded and networked systems.
Research: combustion, coal and biomass, animal waste, energy
diet changes, and other treatments.
Sai C. Lau Graduate Program Director & Professor Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1980 Research: internal turbine blade cooling, with and without rotation, heat transfer enhancement for single phase convection and boiling, heat exchangers, electronic package cooling, and conjugate heat transfer.
N. K. Anand Executive Associate Dean of Engineering James M. & Ada Sutton Forsyth Professor Ph.D., Purdue University, 1983 Research: condensation heat transfer, numerical techniques, heat exchangers, porous media, and aerosols.
thermodynamics.
Raymundo Arroyave Associate Professor Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2004 Research: computational thermodynamics and kinetics of materials and development of phase evolution of microstructures.
Debjyoti Banerjee Associate Professor Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles, 1999
transfer (boiling), and micro-scale heat
Terry S. Creasy Associate Professor Ph.D., University of Delaware, 1997 Research: synthetic multifunctional materials, nastic materials for active structures, nanoscale/microscale properties of materials, and equal channel angular extrusion of polymer matrix composites.
Dara W. Childs
Swaroop V. Darbha
Regents Professor & Leland T. Jordan Chair Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin, 1968
Professor Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 1994
Research: design of generic new operating devices and systems, including patents, invention disclosures, software systems in use in industry or elsewhere.
Research: dynamics and control of large scale systems with applications
David E. Claridge Leland T. Jordan Professor Ph.D., Stanford University, 1976 Research: monitoring and analyzing energy use, expert system applications in buildings, and energy accounting and management.
and collections of unmanned vehicles, diagnostics and control of air brake systems in trucks.
Andrew T. Duggleby
Jaime C. Grunlan
Professor Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1977
Research: polymer nanocomposites with properties that rival metals and ceramics, while maintaining beneficial polymer mechanical behavior.
Research: structure-propertyprocessing relationships, sever plastic deformation of materials via equal channel angular extrusion, and applied superconductivity.
Je-Chin Han
Timothy J. Jacobs
Distinguished Professor & Marcus C. Easterling Chair Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1976 transfer and cooling in gas turbines,
Associate Professor Ph.D., University of Michigan, 2005 Research: internal combustion engines, fundamental experimental diagnostics and investigations, alternative fuels, bio-based fuels and after-treatment systems.
for future electricity generation.
Robert A. Handler
Assistant Professor Ph.D., Virginia Polytechnic Institute, 2006
Professor Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1980
Research: understanding of turbulent transport of mass, momentum, and
dynamics, physics of turbulence, air-sea interfacial processes, turbulent drag reduction, atmospheric boundary layer processes.
performance computational diagnostics and mathematical analysis.
Karl ‘Ted’ Hartwig, Jr.
Associate Professor & Gulf Oil/Thomas A. Dietz Career Development Professor I Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 2001
Ibrahim Karaman Professor & Chair, Materials Science/ Engineering Interdisciplinary Graduate Program Ph.D., University of Illinois, UrbanaChampaign, 2000 Research: processing-microstructuremechanical property relationships in metallic materials and micromechanical constitutive modeling of crystal plasticity.
Mechanical Engineering | 29
Reza Langari
Daniel A. McAdams II
Associate Professor Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1997
Professor Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 1991
Associate Professor Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin, 1999
Research: precision mechatronics, nanoscale engineering and technology, real-time control systems design, novel actuators and sensors, and networked control systems.
Research: intelligent control, fuzzy linguistic control, adaptive and selforganizing systems, vehical dynamics and control, diagnostic systems.
Won-Jong Kim
Yong-Joe Kim Assistant Professor Ph.D., Purdue University, 2003 Research: active and passive noise/ vibration, acoustics.
Tom R. Lalk Associate Professor Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, 1972 Research: internal combustion engines, energy systems.
30 | Mechanical Engineering
Hong ‘Helen’ Liang Professor Ph.D., Stevens Institute of Technology, 1992 Research: surface propertiesbehavior relations, (nano) tribology, tribochemistry, bionanointerfance, biomaterials, nanomanufacturing, and Chemo-mechanical polishing
Richard J. Malak, Jr.
Research: design theory and methodmodeling, design of innovative automated products through process modeling, and failure avoidance as applied to product design.
Gerald L. Morrison Professor Ph.D., Oklahoma State University, 1977
Anastasia H. Muliana Associate Professor & Dietz Career Development Professor II Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2004 Research: analytical, numerical, and experimental approaches in areas of structural and computational mechanics.
Alan D. Palazzolo Professor Ph.D., University of Virginia, 1981 ball/magnetic bearings, energy
turbomachinery, pumps, compressors, computerized data acquisition and analysis, laser anemometry.
Partha P. Mukherjee
vibrations, machinery diagnostic stress analysis, machinery dynamics.
Alexander G. Parlos
Assistant Professor Ph.D., Georgia Institute of Technology, 2008
Assistant Professor Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University, 2007
Professor Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1986
Research: engineering design, computer-aided design, numerical methods for engineers, modeling and simulation in design, engineering database design, regression analysis, design of experiments.
Research: electrochemical energy storage and conversion, renewable energy and environmental science, materials-transport interface physics, physico-electrochemical transport phenomena in porous media.
Research: machine condition assessment and end-of-life prediction, distributed sensor/actuator networks, intelligent mechatronics devices, intelligent control for system life extension.
Michael B. Pate Professor Ph.D., Purdue University, 1982 Research: alternative energy, energy building technology and sustainability, heat transfer and heat exchangers, and thermal processes and refrigeration properties.
Eric L. Petersen Professor Ph.D., Stanford University, 1998 Research: propulsion, shock wave physics, shock tubes, chemical kinetics, solid rocket propellants, optical
turbines.
Miladin Radovic Associate Professor Ph.D., Drexel University, 2001 Research: processing and characterization of ceramics, hightemperature materials for energy application, high temperature mechanical properties of ceramics, realiability and durability of ceramic materials.
K. R. Rajagopal
J. N. Reddy
Taher M. Schobeiri
Distinguished Professor, Regents Professor, & J. M. Forsyth Chair Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1978
Distinguished Professor, Regents Professor & Oscar S. Wyatt Jr. Chair Ph.D., University of Alabama, 1973
Oscar S. Wyatt Professor Ph.D., Technical University Darmstadt, 1978
Research: design, vibrations, strength
Research: analysis of laminated composite plates and shells with actuators/sensors, and development
Research: experimental and
elasticity and plasticity.
technology for the solution of critical problems of mechanics.
within turbomachinery components, analysis of dynamic behavior of turbomachinery systems, tubine performance.
Devesh Ranjan
Sivakumar Rathinam
Assistant Professor Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2007
Assistant Professor Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2007
Professor Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 1991
Research: collaborative decision making for large scale systems, auto-nomous systems, vision-based control, remote sensing of infrastructure systems, and
Research: plasticity of metals and polymers, thermomechanics of dissipative processes, dislocation dynamics, Cosserat continua, design and dyna-mics of compliant mechanisms.
turbulent mixing and supersonic combustion, shock tube applications, design of thermal systems.
Bryan P. Rasmussen Associate Professor Ph.D., University of Illinois, UrbanaChampaign, 2005 Research: dynamic modeling and model reduction, model validation, automated modeling, nonlinear control, robust control, alternative energy systems.
Luis A. San Andres
Arun R. Srinivasa
David A. Staack
Mast-Childs Professor Ph.D., Texas A&M University, 1985
Assistant Professor Ph.D., Drexel University, 2008
Research: analysis, design and testing
Research: non-thermal plasmas, micro- and nano-scale plasmas, electric propulsion for spacecraft, plasma enhanced materials processing and synthesis, plasma enhanced fuel conversion and combustion.
and seals for oil-free turbomachinery, rotordynamics of turbomachinery, structural vibrations, computational mechanics.
Mechanical Engineering | 31
Lecturers John Haglund Lecturer Richard McGuire Lecturer Tillie McVay Lecturer Andrea Strzelec
Sy-Bor Wen
Xinghang Zhang
Assistant Professor Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2006
Associate Professor Ph.D., North Carolina State University, 2001
Research: laser processing with ultrahigh speed pulsed laser, chemical analysis with laser-induced plasma, nanomaterial generation with laser ablation, and nanoscale energy and mass transport with near field effects.
Research: radiation damage in nanostructured metals, nanotwins induced strengthening, magnetic shape
Choongho Yu
Make McDermott, Jr.
Linda & Ralph Schmidt Professor Ph.D., University of Michigan, 1988
Assisant Professor Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin, 2004
Visiting Associate Professor Ph.D., University of Texas, Austin, 1969.
Research: nanomaterials synthesis, functionalization, exfoliation and structure-property relationship of polymers, coatings, adhesives, and composites.
Research: investigation of energy transport in nanostructures and synthesis of nanostructured materials for energy conversion applications, thermal insulation, and thermal energy dissipation.
Research: design, automotive engineering vehicle dynamics, modeling & control of dynamic systems, automotive adaptive equipment for physically challenged drivers.
Assistant professor Ph.D., University of Wisconsin, Madison, Engine Research Center, 2009 Research: characterization of diesel and gasoline particulate matter (PM) and neutron imaging of particulate and ash loading in diesel particulate
H. J. Sue
Visiting Professors
Ozden Ochoa Research Professor Maria King Associate Research Engineer
Development
Diane Barron Director of Development
Derek Dictson Director of Development
Chii-Der ‘Steve’ Suh Associate Professor Ph.D., Texas A&M University, 1997 Research: nonlinear machining dynamics, MEMS and NMEMS fabrication, microelectronic packaging reliability, stress wave propagation, and laser-induced stress wave thermometry.
32 | Mechanical Engineering
Nicole S. Zacharia Assistant Professor Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 2007 Research: nanoscale colloidal structures, polymer-metal composite structures for nanomotors and nanocapsules, microphase separation and creation of swellable-shrinkable
William C. Schneider Visiting Professor Ph.D., Rice University, 1972 Research: mathematical engineering mechanics, structural and mechanical design, spacecraft entry thermal protection systems, and large space structures.
Qatar Faculty
Hamid R. Parsaei Interim Program Chair & Professor Ph.D., University of Texas, Arlington, 1984 With a Doctorate in industrial engineering, Dr. Parsaei has served as principal and coprincipal investigator on projects sponsored by NSF and the Qatar Foundation.
Andrew Conkey
Eyad Masad Professor Ph.D., Washington State University, 1998 Masad holds interest in characterization and modeling of infrastructure materials, transport in porous media, granular mechanics, design and analysis of pavements, and microstructure analysis techniques.
Houshang Masudi
Assistant Professor Ph.D., Texas A&M University, 2007
VIsiting Professor Ph.D., Texas A&M University, 1984
Conkey’s area of interest is machine condition monitoring and vibrations and general machine design. Curriculum development is also an area of interest. He is a member of ASME, ASEE, and a member of the Vibration Institute.
Masudi has experience as a researcher, educator, and service provider at national and international levels. He has worked extensively in the areas of mechanical system and design, energy, composite materials, CAD/CAM, biomechanics, and failure analysis.
Nesrin Ozalp
Steven Gyeszly
Associate Professor Ph.D., University of Washington, 2005 Ozalp has research interests in thermodynamic analysis of energy clean energy technologies, and energy and environmental policy.
Visiting Professor Ph.D., Michigan State University, 1974 combined experience in university teaching, academic administration, senior management in industry, and consulting.
John Bryant Associate Professor Ph.D., Texas A&M University, 1995 Bryant has worked in the HVAC
Annie Ruimi Assistant Professor Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara, 2005
has extensive applied engineering experience in mechanical consulting/
Ruimi’s research interests are in classical continuum mechanics, Cosserat continuum, piezoelectricity,
installation, and energy management systems operation and maintenance.
applications ranging from MEMS design to mechanics of biomaterials.
Ghassan Kridli Visiting Associate Professor Ph.D., University of Missouri, Columbia, 1997 Kridli’s interests are product design and manufacturing. His experience is in elevated temperature processing of aluminum alloys, including warm forming and superplastic forming. In addition, he is interested in engineering education.
Mansour Karkob Professor Ph.D., University of Minnesota, 1994 Karkob performs research in systems and controls. His specialties are engineering vibratioin, controls, intelligence to mechanical systems.
Reza Sadr Assistant Professor Ph.D., University of Utah, 2002 Sadr’s research interests include and heat transfer, Brownian dynamics and nano-scale, and related surface chemistry and turbulent jets.
Reza Tafreshi Assistant Professor Ph.D., University of British Columbia, 2005 Tafreshi’s research includes biomedical signal processing, machine fault diagnosis, dynamic systems and control, and robotics and automation.
Mechanical Engineering | 33
Administrative Staff
Katina Anderson Accounting Academic Business Administrator I
Melinda Lindsay Personnel Organizational Services Manager
Mitch Wittneben Information Technology Sr. Informational Technology Professional II
Sophia Keen
Assistant to the Department Head
Missy Cornett
Sr. Academic Advisor I
34 | Mechanical Engineering
Doug Beck
Sr. Academic Advisor II
Kimberly Moses
Sr. Academic Advisor II
Kasey Sims
Academic Advisor I
Holley Toschlog
Dori Wilson
Sheryl Mallett
Rick Aderholt
Brittney Mangum
Daniel Theiss
Sarah Morgan
Mike Theiss
Business Coordinator III
Systems Analyst II
Gina Gressett
Lifen ‘Ann’ Hsiao
Mahalia Nix
Electronics Technician II
Business Coordinator II
Business Coordinator II
Scott Jones
Business Coordinator III
James Sajewski
Master Instrument Maker
Technician II
Technician II
Isabel Cantu
Crystal Morris
Layne Wylie
Master Instrument Maker
We invite you to become engaged and give your support to our department in any way possible. department leadership. For more information please contact: Diane Barron - Director of Development Ph. 979.862.1517 or 979.255.6656 E-mail: d-barron@tamu.edu Derek Dictson - Director of Development Ph. 979.862.1214 or 979.575.4496 E-mail: d-dictson@tamu.edu
DEPARTMENT HEAD’S OFFICE Andreas A. Polycarpou (Department Head) Melinda Lindsay Sophia Keen MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTORS Editors Pam Hoestenbach Assistant Editors Talia Delos Santos Kerry Remson
CONTACT THE DEPARTMENT Phone: 979.845.1251 Fax: 979.845.3081 Email: tamu-me-head@tamu.edu
Mechanical Engineering | 35